“Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him.” (Psalm 37:7a GW)

Surrendering your life means:

– Following God’s lead without knowing where he’s sending you.

– Waiting for God’s timing without knowing when it will come.

– Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide.

– Trusting God’s purpose without understanding the circumstances.

You know you’re surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work. You don’t have to always be “in charge.” Instead of trying harder, you trust more.

You also know you’re surrendered when you don’t react to criticism and rush to defend yourself.

Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You are not self-serving, you don’t edge others out, and you don’t demand your rights.

The most difficult thing to surrender for many people is their money. Many have thought, “I want to live for God, but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday.”

Retirement is not the goal of a surrendered life because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money,” and “Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also.”

The supreme example of self-surrender is Jesus. The night before his crucifixion, Jesus surrendered himself to God’s plan. He prayed, “Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”

Jesus didn’t pray, “God, if you’re able to take away this pain, please do so.” He began by affirming that God can do anything! He prayed, “God, if it is in your best interest to remove this suffering, please do so. But if it fulfils your purpose, that’s what I want, too.”

Genuine surrender says, “Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another’s life, please don’t take it away!”

This level of maturity doesn’t come easily. In Jesus’ case, he agonized so much over God’s plan that he sweated drops of blood. Surrender is hard work. In our case, it requires intense warfare against our self-centred nature.

I hadn’t played golf for about sev­en years when I was asked by the golf pro at the Royal Jersey Golf Club if I fancied a round. Hmm, how do you respond to this? Be­ing a bloke I couldn’t wimp out, could I? I buried the thought that I would have a scratch golfer and a pro watching me tee off, along with other regulars. I buried the certainty that I would be slicing, hacking and ‘topping’ the ball for all to see in front of people who are members of a club with a 20-plus-year waiting list.

The fateful day came – and it was everything I expected. I did manage to keep the ball on the fairway, but for the most part it was on a fairway of a hole that I wasn’t playing! I managed to lose about 20 million balls as well, and also discovered that although I had the loan of a set of clubs that cost more than a private jet, it made no difference to my game.

It had the potential to be, how shall I put it, ever so slightly emasculating.

I had the same experience when I went to the gym with another mate. I’ve been pumping iron sporadically for years. Deano, however, has been a gym regular and a protein supplement-taker since he was in the womb! Again, it had all the potential to be emasculating.

Another time, I was cycling up a mountain in the Alps when I noticed, about two kilometres behind me, another cyclist. I was still going up the hairpins an hour later when he came past me. You can imagine my horror when the bloke cycled past me and grunted a ‘bonjour’ with a slight look of dis­dain on his face. There was me, 38 at the time, and this guy was about 70! He looked like a grizzled, gnarled ex-foreign legionnaire. Definitely emasculating!

I could go on… There’s a bloke I know who picked up a Rubik’s cube I was struggling with and solved it in two minutes. Or the time I was with a friend in France, who suddenly took over ordering for me in a restaurant, because it turned out he was fluent in French and I was ordering intestines when I really wanted a standard sausage!

All of these times – and I have no doubt there will be more -could be horrendous if you are concerned about being the big man and the biggest gorilla in the room. You’ve got to be content to be your own man in this life and comfortable in your own skin. Faith helps to a great extent in that ongoing battle. It keeps your life in perspective.

So, next time you are in a bar and all the boys are ordering beer and you want a ginger beer – go for it. Be your own man and don’t worry about the watching masses. You’ll be a lot more peaceful that way.

Rev. Ken Pesaud

NHCC is a Christian Community in which every person can find their destiny, being made more like Jesus as they realise their God given goals.

OUR GOALS

To present the Good News of Jesus to every man woman and child in Notting Hill, London; whilst providing the means for them to grow in God.

OUR VISION

For NHCC to be a modern Christian Community in which every person can find their destiny, being made like Jesus by the power of God as they realise their God given goals

OUR GOAL

To present the Good News of Jesus, in a relevant way, to every man woman and child in Notting Hill, London and the World; and to provide the means for them to grow in grace using their gifts for the glory of God

OUR CONTEXT

In order to achieve our goal and work out our vision we partner with many churches and organisations locally, across London, nationally and worldwide. Acts 1:8